Let Your Wounds Be Healed By Lazybone’s “Nabiya”
Don’t be scared by the destructive cat: Lazybone’s (레이지본) latest song “Nabiya” is all but menacing: it’s in fact a burst of energy that aims to heal the listener’s wounds.
Released with Stone Music Entertainment on July 2, 2024, it’s a truly unexpected combination of flavors: the music blends elements of punk rock and ska, producing an overall energetic and upbeat vibe, with driving guitar riffs and fast-paced drumming that would sound best suited to a message of youthful exuberance and rebellion. Yet, the lyrics tell a whole other story.
As the artists explain in a post on their official Instagram profile as well as in the promotional caption of the music video, “Nabiya” is a message of comfort to anyone who’s hurting: “We all live with thorns in our hearts, thorns we don't even know where they came from as we run towards our dreams, and like a wounded animal, we are afraid and weak, so we grow angry and snarl. But Lazybone says, "Let's open our hearts, let's pull each other's thorns out, let's not be afraid anymore.”
So here comes Nabiya, a fictional cat (or is it maybe the cat of one of the band’s members? We’re still unsure about that), whose name in Korean (나비야) means “Butterfly”: it is a stray cat that represents all the people who are carrying small or big wounds, caused by modern life. With a little over two minutes and a half of upbeat music, and the repeated chorus that repeats time and time again “Nabiya, I’ll take out the thorns” (내가 가시를 빼 줄게, nae-ga gasi-reul ppae-julge), we’re sure that the message comes through!
Also, the official music video is so wonderfully weird that it’s absolutely worth watching. It’s a whole lot of fun with what seems to be a search for the Godzilla-sized cat that is scaring the population: the men are willing to brave the fierce creature, not to fight it, but to save it and turn it once more into the cutest kitty by - guess what? - extracting the thorn that’s hurting it. And the best thing is that the video is all shot and edited with an amatorial style that might make you want to try your hand at filmmaking over the weekend, with your smartphone and your quirkiest friends.
If you’re in for yet another treat, there’s also a lyric video full of cats showing off whimsically bizarre moves: they perform smooth martial arts moves mixed with dance moves in a variety of styles, all in a botanical frame and technicolor background. A feast for the eyes, really.
Lazybone
Formed in 1997, Lazybone band is known for their distinctive blend of punk and ska rock music, and they’re among the forerunners of Korean indie music, along with other first-generation acts such as No Brain (노브레인) and Crying Nut (크라잉넛). Currently, Lazybone consists of three members: Jundai (준다이, vocalist), Lim Junkyu (임준규, guitar), and Jeong Taejun (정태준, bass). The band has been receiving a lot of love through songs such as “Hey Buddy” (레이지, 2022), “DO IT YOURSELF” (2017), and “Uh-Gi-Yeo-Cha(Row Row Row)” (어기여차, 2019), and has been actively engaged in music activities since the release of “Wonderland” this April.
Are you ready to let Lazybone take away the thorns, and just like “Nabiya” be purged of pain?